FZRSupport: the FZROnline Archive

Hey guys, finally got back on the bike today.. Was a lil nervous at first since it was the first time since my crash, but once I rode for a little bit, things came back .. Anyways, couple of issues.. The damn thing is STILL running hot with 2 fans, water & waterwetter in the rad.. I just don't get it. Rage, if I can talk my wife into that damn Oil Cooler (if you still got) I might get it to make sure I can keep the engine running cooler cause it's gonna hit the redline and make a mess.. I don't want that.

The next thing that was odd and came out of left field, so to speak was that I had been driving for about an hour or so and all of a sudden my speedometer stopped working. I can't figure it out although I haven't really taken it apart to check. I did stop and pulled the cable out checked it, put it back in and tightened it up to no avail. It still won't work. The whole "meter" gauge seems to be dead.. I dunno why..

Any insights?

Oh yeah, If anyone else is planning on running 2 fans, you'll likely have to cut the back side of the front fender down.. Realized after I was riding that when I went to turn the bike (adjusting when parking) that something was making a god aweful sound) When I looked down, well, the fender was clipping the fan blades on the outer fan.. *sigh* gotta cut that off tomorrow..

And lastly, don't drive behind a dump-truck if you don't have too.. My new f***in paint job has tar on it now..

You've confirmed your thermostat is still working and hasn't quit?

sweekster wrote:You've confirmed your thermostat is still working and hasn't quit?

check that first......!

replaced the thermal unit/switch last year, and I believe I put in a new thermostat as well.. I'm not 100% sure on that, but last year the switch and unit were definitely toasted..

Now, for the thermostat, are they just standard or do I need to get one specific for the bike? Hell, I might run no thermostat if it keeps running hot like it does.. That way there's always coolant flowing + the 2 fans..

Also, anyone have any ideas on the speedo gauge?

it's either the sensor, cable, or the meter itself

i have a replacement set of gauges for sale

at what point do your fans kick on? also, if you have the fans mounted on both sides of the radiator and directly in-line with each other, (air goes through one fan, through the radiator, through the other fan) it's not going to help anything. they need to be side by side for increased cooling. if that's the way you have it, then you have a problem for sure.

have you installed a toggle switch to manually turn on your fan?

do you know if your bike is running lean?

when i got my 400, i cleaned the carbs and got everything working right. but the fan didn't want to kick on until the gauge was in the red zone. maybe i have an overzealous meter that reads hotter than the bike really is. i installed a tiny toggle switch on the left clip on and wired it into the thermostat switch so i can manually bypass it. i use it when i'm in traffic, but otherwise, don't really need it. personally, i run 2 ounces of "marvel mystery oil" in a tank full of gas and swear it runs a little smoother and cooler. i also added 4 ounces to the oil because it is supposed to help clean out any sludge or build ups in the oil system. at this point, i can confidently run the bike to redline in all gears and run the hell out of it on the back roads all day long without worry.

the speedo thing.... my speedo stopped working once during a ride. i pulled over about 10 miles down the road only to find that the cable had unscrewed from the gauge cluster. a simple fix cured it.

good luck and keep us updated as to how it goes.

Well, I got the speedo issue figured out.. For some odd reason inside the front wheel hub the cable snapped, so I ordered a new one today..

However, the heating issue is still a BIG problem. I've got a switch bypassing the entire system right now. I had it last year as well, but it seems to be running even hotter this year and with the fan running constantly, it does nothing to be quite honest. I suppose I didn't really think things through when I put the 2nd fan on there, I figured it would help by mounting on the oustide, reversing the wires, thus reversing the motor and having one fan pull and the other push. I guess that's not going to work, so now I gotta look at the carbs..

I'll be honest, I don't have a clue whether it's running lean or not. I'm not 100% sure what adjustments I'd need to make for that.. on RC planes, I can make them run perfectly, but that's an easy carb to work on

What would it entail to check and see if it's running too lean? Otherwise, the bike is running great

Thanks for the help guys..

one look at the plugs will tell you if you're lean

or, check if your revs hang and the bike is well, super hot

if it is try a few turns out on each carb

If by revvs hanging, you mean when I snap the throttle and let go, then no, it doesn't hang at all..

As for the plugs, what am I lookin for? wet is fouled and rich, however would it be a burnt look to the plugs if I'm runnin lean?

Thanks Shift, I'll check the plugs out tomorrow... I haven't changed them since I bought the bike last year anyways, so I suppose it's as good a time as any to put new ones in.. I'll also check out the thermostat.. Cripes, my local dealer wanted $45 for the thermostat. Now, I know the ones for the 400 are 48mm, 82C I believe, so would any thermostat with the same ratings and size work? Cause I'm not paying $45 + tax for it.. that's ridiculous.

bweight wrote:.. I'll also check out the thermostat.. Cripes, my local dealer wanted $45 for the thermostat. Now, I know the ones for the 400 are 48mm, 82C I believe, so would any thermostat with the same ratings and size work? Cause I'm not paying $45 + tax for it.. that's ridiculous.

I'd stop by an auto parts store and see. just looking at the housing it looks to be the same size as what was in my gf's 89 Toyota Camry 4cyl.

Well still having issues. I've now replaced the plugs, replaced the thermostat, burped the rad (there was air in the system), then took it out for another ride tonight.. I ran the shit out of it in town to see if I can get it to overheat.. And while things looked good for a while, the temp gauge slowly crept back up to the danger zone and I'm clueless now as to why it's still doing it.

This afternoon before clearing the air from the rad, I took a ride on the highway and she still gets hot so now I'm outta ideas.. I haven't checked the water pump yet because I want to exhaust all other options first. I just don't want to tear the bike down that far if I don't have to. The bike IS running lean, but again I don't have any clue how to really richen it up. Another thing I noticed is that when the bike is runnin on that fine line between hot and uh-oh, the RPM's hover at around 2k when idling.. if I snap the throttle, the temp goes right up and the rpm's don't really come back down below that 2k threshold.

And one more issue that's cropped up the more I ride the bike.. When stopping, it seems as if the entire fork assembly is "rocking".. like the caliper's warped (which it isn't), but the top of the steering stem seems to be moving forward and back.. Could that be my upper steering bearing? (if there is one?)